


A Taut Red String

by sexy-captain-rexy (smolkatsudon)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, CT-411 | Ponds/Mace Windu - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Force-Sensitive Reader, M/M, Mace Windu/Ponds | CT-411 - Freeform, POV First Person, Padawan Reader, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Romance, Soulmate AU, Soulmates, pain link
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 18:05:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14218740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolkatsudon/pseuds/sexy-captain-rexy
Summary: As Jedi, attachments are a wary subject, but they aren't forbidden, especially when there's a greater power acting on the individual. Between two people, a link is formed from birth with the one they're destined to be with. The Jedi have no control over this phenomenon, and since it's easier to leave it be than to try to force the link to close, there's a silent acceptance of relationships. But it's still ill advised for Jedi to actively seek their partner out, just to keep the danger of attachment a little further away.And when the Clone Wars breaks out, few Jedi find that their match comes from those within reach. You, as a Jedi padawan, noticed constant pain but ruled any assumptions out— but for whatever reason you did that for, you don't know for sure. But then one day, a pain so great hits you so suddenly that the people around you start to get curious...





	A Taut Red String

**Author's Note:**

> I left the padawan relationship with Mace ambiguous so you can decide for yourself whether or not that's for you. Also, I love Anakin and the idea that if he had the chance, he'd try to get as many people (that he was close to of course) together as possible.

“Are we leaving soon, Master?”

My eyes trail up the tall figure next to me. His robes trail behind in billowing waves against the wind and his eyes are watching the men walk about with a quiet stare.

“We will,” he answers, turning to direct his gaze towards me. “Have you briefed yourself of the plan after our rendezvous with the others?”

“I have, don’t worry too much about me. I can always improvise.” I grin towards the taller man and he gives a small smile.

“And that’s what I’m afraid of,” he says bluntly, chuckling softly. I frown in response, huffing at his words before I see Ponds strolling towards us. He stops in front of Mace with his helmet underneath his arm and salutes. Towards me, also at a rank of commander, he nods and I nod back.

“All the men are ready for departure, sir.” Ponds holds his body still in a flourish of obedience and Mace nods at this words. I see him glance towards me for a moment before he turns back to Ponds.

It’s time to go.

I wait for Mace to step forward first, taking a place just behind him. Ponds strides at a spot next to me and is silent before he catches my gaze towards him. He sends me a soft smile and I find myself caught off guard. Hurriedly, I smile back, bashful to the attention that I was receiving from the clone.

I suddenly feel the air in my lungs rush out of my chest and the strength in my legs give away. Choking on nothing, my hand flies towards my chest, gripping to the fabric in vain despite the fact that there's just _nothing_ there and that it's like something just  _magically_ hit me. Of course, that's no possible, but that realization doesn't stop the pain from settling in. The emptiness of my lungs are replaced with a horrible stinging pain, spreading over my body as it attacks all senses like a storm moving in too fast and unbearably strong. I don’t even realise that I’ve fallen to my knees until I gasp out again to see the grey cement of the ground.

I can hear voices around me, vividly distorted as my body struggles to cope with the hidden assailant of my pain. I shut my eyes, leaning forward as the pain begins to waver— like actually wavering as if an illusion— and start to settle back down from the peak of it's assault. I lean so far forward that I can feel the ground touch my forehead in the numbing episode. As if on instinct, my body curls into itself, forcing myself to become smaller and smaller as I await this familiar kind of pain to pass.

I don’t know how long I’m stuck in that agonizing state for, but when I finally come to, I’m wheezing for a breath. My chest aches for a few moments after that initial pain is gone, but I know that I can manage the rest of the pain until it completely dies down.

“It’s the pain link, isn’t it?”

Mace’s voice sounds low and heavy, and when I lift my head to meet his gaze, I can see his eyebrows furrowed deeply. I nod and draw out a long breath, waiting for more of the pain to pass. Like a wave crashing against a coastal line, the violent churning slowly dissipates into a sting and then into a ache. Bearable, at last.

“Ugh, that was horrible,” I mumble to myself, letting my breaths slowly return to normal. I pull myself out of my ball and sit up on the ground. In front of me, Ponds holds out his hand with a concerned expression on his face. I take his help, letting him easily pull me up from the ground.

“They haven’t…” Mace’s words don’t continue and I look up to him with my own concern. Mace never trails off like that.

“No, I don’t think so,” I say, feeling the ache continue pounding in my chest. “They’re still alive, I’m pretty sure, even after whatever  _ that  _ was.”

I look at Mace to see him looking towards Ponds, and when I turn to the clone, he’s staring back at the senior Jedi. They’re both sharing worried expressions and I find myself sighing, placing hand to both their arms.

“You guys are lucky, having found each other already.” I lift my hands up and pat their arms, pitying myself in my predicament.

“We still _do_ feel pain, Padawan [L/N],” is all Mace says to lecture me once again.

“But mine is double your pain,” I complain with a roll of my eyes, fully aware of the strange universal system of soulmates and how it seemed to function. The two move their eyes onto me and then back towards each other. A small smile stretches over both their faces and I throw my hands up in the air. “Okay, lovebirds, let’s go.”

“Padawan [L/N]…”

“I’ve caught you two more than enough times _getting it on_ , I don’t think it’s a big secret, Master.”

“She’s  _ what _ ?”

“Nothing, Commander Ponds, nothing. Let’s start moving.”

—

“Skywalker, I don’t think—”

“Not now Master Windu, this is something that  _ has  _ to be done.”

“But like this?”

“I’m sure everything will be alright, Master only wants what’s best for --.”

“I’m afraid that’s what’s worrying, other than the obvious, of course. Anakin isn’t the best at coming up with elaborate plans.”

“Skywalker—”

I feel something in my mind snap.

“Why am I blindfolded.” My words don’t even come out as a question, only drifting into the air with an edge of annoyance and anger. I also don’t trust whatever’s happening or about to happen.

“Don’t worry, [Y/N], you’re in safe hands.”

“I don’t trust those words, Anakin, I hope you know that.”

“Oh, I do. Now, come on,” says Anakin, and despite the fact that I really did not want to trust the man, I heave a sigh and stand up.

“Which way do I go? Or am I supposed to wander into the walls?”

I feel someone’s hand wrap around my wrist and start tugging me towards a certain direction. I follow the motion, letting whoever has my wrist to guide me along. From the feel of the Force surrounding the person, I can tell it’s Anakin. There are others behind me, and from their Force signatures, I can tell that it’s Ahsoka, Mace, and Obi Wan. Seems like everyone came.

“Are you going to tell me what’s happening?”

“Nope.” His answer comes out almost sing-song like and I scowl.

Whatever it is that we’re doing and however long it takes, I don’t know. I really am just blind to whatever’s happening and I don’t like it one bit and that feeling only grew as I heard questions and whispers from clones and other staff members. Why did Anakin have to do something so embarrassing in the middle of a medstation during a rendezvous? Seriously, sometimes this guy was going to be the death of me.

_ thump  _

I let out a soft whine at the collision and I hear Anakin apologize. Rubbing my nose with my other hand, I let him tug me forward before letting go to push me the rest of the way. Hands that I didn’t know were Anakin’s or not undid the knot of the blindfold and I blinked against the light of the station lights. It only takes a few moments of adjustment before I finally understand where I am.

Standing at the door, I can see one of the many resting rooms of the medstation. The lights are dimmer than the brightest I’ve seen, shining over the minimalistic design of the room. There are two beds and a small table, and occupying one bed is two familiar faces turned to me. One is Cody, who standing next to the used bed, and the other is Rex, who sits atop the bed with his legs covered by the thin sheets. Almost in the centre of his chest is a square of cotton, I think, taped onto his half naked body.

“What the kriff?”

“Padawan,  _ language _ .”

“Master Windu, I think that given her situation, she deserves this much freedom.”

Thank you, Obi Wan.

Cody nods to me, greeting me just as all the other commanders do, before stepping by me towards the door. I turn after him, staring at Anakin with confusion. I take one step forward and all of a sudden, the door shuts and I hear a soft beep and loud laughter than can only belong to  _ one _ person.

“Door’s locked and the cameras are off. Have fun, you two.”

Anakin’s voice is muffled as it struggles to make it past the metal door, but I hear him loud and clear.

“Hey! Anakin! What do you mean by that? Anakin! Anakin Skywalker!”

“We’ll let you out in a few hours, don’t worry!” answers Ahsoka’s voice with just as much excitement as Anakin and I let out a deep sigh. No doubt, Mace did the same and probably even heavier. After all, he’s on  _ their  _ side.

I step away from the door and turn to Rex, letting my eyes wander down to whatever his wound is. Stepping closer, I move to grab a chair from the side of the room.

“So, what happened to you?” I ask curiously, managing to get a chair and beginning to drag it over. We have a few hours in here, so I may as well be comfortable.

“Well, I, uh,” Rex stutters, scratching the back of his neck while diverting his gaze. I cock my head to the side, blinking in confusion. Finally managing to get the chair to the side of his bed, I sit myself down and continue watching him. He’s never so apprehensive like this. I wonder what happened.

“Are you sick or something? Do you need me to get a medic—” I glance at the door from the corner of my eyes— “or, try to, at least.”

“N-no, I’m fine, really—” Rex breaks out of his strangely meek behavior to meet my gaze for a moment. A very, very short moment later, he's already looking away again.

“Oh, alright.”

I look back towards Rex and watch as he coughs into his fist. The air grows still and I bring my hands to my lap, fidgeting with my fingers and sleeves in an attempt to entertain myself. Though there’s a silence, I can still hear him shuffling atop his bed, and when I look up just a little, I can see his lower body. He’s wearing pants, thank the Force.

“Hey!” shouts a voice and I jump in my chair. I snap my head up and look around, catching the sight of Rex glaring at the ceiling with an irritated expression. I follow his line of sight, meeting with a small, black orb embedded inside the ceiling tiles. “I didn’t cut off the video and audio feed of your room just to let you two sit around and do nothing!”

Isn’t that Anakin? That  _ has  _ to be Anakin.

“General, if I may, I don’t—”

“Ah, ah, ah, you may not,” interjects Anakin and I roll my eyes. Rex shuts his mouth and frowns at the tutting from his commanding officer.

“Alright, Anakin, that’s enough, turn it off.” I hear Obi Wan in the background sounding just as tired of Anakin’s antics as per usual.

“Alright, audio and visual off,” Anakin answers extremely willingly. I hear a soft beep and then silence again.

“You think he’s really gone?” I wonder out loud, turning towards Rex.

“I don’t know,” are Rex’s only words before he rubs his face with a hand, looking more and more tired by the second.

“Well, there’s only one way to find out—” Rex raises and eyebrow and I glance over at him. For a moment, I sit there in silence, wondering if Anakin would come out of hiding on his own. To my surprise, there's nothing.

"The General is never _t_ _his_ silent," Rex's voice comments thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure he's gone."

“Huh, I guess so,” I comment with surprise, turning to Rex. My eyes widen when I see him meeting my eyes properly for the first time I'd been tossed into the room. We maintain that eye contact for who knows how long before  Rex sends me a soft smile. If not for the chair beneath me, I’m sure I would have melted in the spot and fallen to the floor below. Tilting my head down, I try biting down my own smile, only to have it push through and tug up the corners of my lips.

In my lap, my hands return to fiddling with my long sleeves, unable to look up a the man in front of me without thinking about the smile and the words he gave me just moments ago. They send my heart soaring, racing unfairly to disrupt the front I had spent so long creating.

“I heard from Ponds about your pain this morning,” starts Rex’s voice in the silence. “I’m very sorry to put you through that. I heard that you were in a lot of pain.”

“You don’t have to apologize, it’s not like you caused it,” I assure, looking up from my lap to meet his gaze, only, my eyes don’t make it. They become entrapped by the white square exed with more white. It’s situated close to his sternum, only shifted slightly to the left. My eyes move up and I watch as he takes in a deep and shuddering breath. An ache appears in my chest soon after he takes in that breath and my hand instinctively moves up to press against the internal feeling. 

The pain I felt today,

The injury to his chest,

The apology from that same injured man.

I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. I’m utterly speechless and it shows quite obviously. What can I say? How am I supposed to feel? What do I even feel right now? I really don’t know and I just can’t understand what’s happening. What were the odds of something so incredible happening to me?

I flinch out of my thoughts when I feel something warm envelop my hand. It’s someone’s hand— Rex’s hand— and it encloses my much smaller hand with a gentle grip. Lost in the feeling of his touch, I place my other hand onto his, pressing against his skin. It’s really warm and the heartbeat that I feel, is it mine or is it his?

“This must be what the General wanted us to do.” I hear Rex’s voice speak softer than I’ve ever heard before, entering my senses like he’d just whispered into my ear.

“I guess so,” I manage to say, my eyes falling to take in the sight of Rex’s hand between both of mine as my heart continues to escalate faster and faster. It almost feels like I’m drowning in the roaring waves that I could only hear. Well, I hope that Rex can’t hear my heart, because that would be embarrassing.

I hear the bed shift and then a hand moves into view. It stops just underneath my eyes, as if frozen now that it’s been caught, before moving on. I feel a touch to my chin and then my eyes meet with brown irises. His face is close— really close— and I can practically feel his breath running along my skin. The finger he had used to tilt my head up trails along my skin, causing my breath to hitch before it stops behind my head. My hair tangles around his touch, losing itself just as much as I’m losing myself.

“Soulmates, huh?”

Force, help me.

I swallow my beating heart and vigorously push down my heavy breaths, labouring to keep relatively calm underneath his gaze. My hands pull away from his touch, but my eyes remain focused on my reflection within chocolate irises. I let my hands wander where they wish, first hanging in the air below our just barely touching faces and then traveling towards his body. My eyes dip away from his for a moment, staring intently at the path my curious hands are taking towards the white square stuck to his chest.

His breath suddenly deepens when I’m a few inches away from my fingertips touching the soft material, so I pause in place. My eyes jump back up to him and I hear Rex hum lowly. I take this with a grain of salt, gently inching towards the pure white. Then, my fingers feel the silken patch, tracing along one of the bandages holding itself atop his darker skin. Rex’s breath tickles my ear and my own breath hitches.

Keep going,

Keep  _ going _ .

My fingers travel along the vastness of his skin, ghosting his scarred appearance and moving up and up alongside my hungry eyes. Over curves and past sculpted dips, my eyes find themselves staring into deep brown and my hand finally finds its place on the side of his neck just where his jawline starts. It stays there and the other hand that had fallen from the air in my exploration jerks out of its slumber atop the bed, hopeful of a spot touching the man’s body.

But Rex shifts on the bed and the closeness is broken. He quickly returns hovering before me with his body now completely turned towards me. My hand, now unable to move, is pressed underneath his warm palm. His hands are calloused but gentle, and half of me wants to close my eyes and do nothing but revel in his warmth. 

And then he suddenly moves forward. I can almost see my own eyes mirrored within Rex’s eyes as his lips press heavily against mine.

Oh,  _ blast _ , he’s  _ kissing _ me.

Rex is—

He’s— 

I shut off the influx of thoughts and close my eyes, finally letting myself melt at his bold action. I can feel the hand behind my head pulling me towards him, deepening the exchange and I mimic him, wrapping my hand around the nape of his neck to pull him even closer than he already is. Grinding his lips against mine, I realise just how soft they are for a man who’s constantly in battle. Or is that just me?

Rex pulls away, his rigid and stoic appearance crumbling faster and faster as he tugs me closer to him. He leans forward again, barely suppressing a low growl— or was that a groan? I can only sit in place, heart pounding at the thought of what will happen next.

And then I feel a warmth being breathed onto my ear and all that was left of my logical thoughts give away for complete desire for more of what Rex could offer.

“ _ My _  soulmate,” I hear him whisper faintly before his lips return to my skin, dragging them over a line along my jawline. A shiver runs up my spine with each action of affection and a whimper escapes my lips just as his lips return to them.

I hope that when Ahsoka said they would leave us in here for a few hours, she wasn’t joking.


End file.
